Researchers have found that the firmness of your hand grip is a better indicator than blood pressure of your risk of having a heart attack, stroke or premature death. The research was conducted by the Population Health Research Institute of McMaster University, Hamilton, and Hamilton Health Sciences, Ontario. It was published in the journal The Lancet. According to principal investigator Dr. Darryl Leong, "Grip strength could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual's risk of death and cardiovascular disease. Doctors or other healthcare professionals can measure grip strength to identify patients with major illnesses such as heart failure or stoke who are at particularly high risk of dying from their illness." The research looked at data from nearly 140,000 adults aged between 35 and 70 years, over a four year period in 17 countries. The individuals’ muscle strength was measured using a handgrip dynamometer. The researchers discovered that for every 11 pound decline in grip strength, there was a one in six increased risk of dying from any cause. This makes sense when you consider that muscle strength declines as we get older; this occurs much more rapidly in some people than others. Elderly people who are frail usually die sooner than age matched individuals who have retained a higher level of strength and fitness. Keeping fit and active is so crucial for maintaining good health, particularly as we get older.   Source: Darryl P Leong. Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The Lancet. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62000-6. Pub online 13 May 2015.